Report: Opportunity for AP classes uneven in USA

Feb. 21, 2013
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by Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

by Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

More students than ever are taking Advanced Placement courses in high school â?? about one in five earn at least 3 out of 5 possible points on an AP test before graduating.

In 2002, 471,404 students took an AP exam of any sort. By last year, it was 954,070.

A new report by the College Board, a non-profit group that creates the tests, finds that opportunities to do advanced work are uneven across the USA. More than 48% of high school students in Maryland took an AP test in high school, for instance, but fewer than 15% in Mississippi did.

The new findings come a day after a Department of Education panel released its own report on educational opportunities in the USA. The Equity and Excellence Commission said, "While some young Americans - most of them white and affluent - are getting a truly world-class education, those who attend schools in high poverty neighborhoods are getting an education that more closely approximates schools in developing nations."

The new AP results are likely to fuel that debate, with findings that suggest student opportunities for advanced work vary strikingly by race. White students, for instance, make up about 59% of the student population and 62% of those who pass an AP test. African-American students, who are nearly 15% of the student population, constitute fewer than 5% of those who pass an AP test. A score of 3 or higher is considered passing on the test's 5-point scale.

The College Board found that, among African-American and Hispanic students whose PSAT scores suggest they'd succeed in AP classes, about one in three end up taking an AP math course. Nationwide, about 300,000 members of the high school class of 2012 showed the potential to do well in AP but didn't take a course.

"We've made strides, but we must continue to work to ensure equity at the heights of excellence," said College Board President David Coleman. The organization's greatest challenge, he said Wednesday, is to figure out how to get underserved students access to AP coursework.

Christina Theokas, research director for the Education Trust, an advocacy group for low-income and minority students, said the findings show access is a big problem for minority students, particularly African Americans and American Indians. "We're expanding the program, but within schools, we're not opening up access and more participation for those kids," she said.

Theokas suggested that schools need to do more to change their academic cultures to encourage more kids to take challenging coursework such as AP. "I think there's still a lot of work to be done on the part of schools to truly open up the program to more kids."

A few states, such as Maryland, Florida, Massachusetts and Arkansas, have aggressively opened up access to AP. In Arkansas, the percentage of students taking AP tests has more than quadrupled since 2002. In other states, growth has been much slower: 19 states saw only single-digit gains.

As more students take AP tests, overall failure rates tend to rise, from about 35% in 2002 to nearly 40% in 2012, according to the College Board. But scores have actually stabilized in the past two years, said Trevor Packer, a senior vice president.

Since the sheer number of students taking AP tests these days dwarfs that of a decade earlier, the percentage of overall students passing at least one test is rising, from nearly 12% in 2002 to nearly 20% last year.